The graph below shows examiner experience as grouped by technology center as of the end of FY2009. The blue-bars represent the percent of examiners and SPEs that have fewer than three years experience at the PTO. The red-bars represent the percent of examiners and SPEs that have ten or more years experience at the PTO. This is a continuation of an earlier discussion.
“…you are being pedantic, Mooney.”
Aren’t there severe penalties for that in most jurisdictions?
Look at the conditions (office actions) outside of the singularity (USPTO Examining Corps), I must say that I am not at all surprised by the statistics shown.
If there’s a singularity at the PTO, it would explain why DC is experiencing weather you usually only see at the poles.
It is comforting to know that the Z-transform function is still accurate. Look at the conditions (office actions) outside of the singularity (USPTO Examining Corps), I must say that I am not at all surprised by the statistics shown. It explains a great deal and, as I said before, shows that the Z-transform provides an accurate representation of the singularity by integrating about the periphery thereof based upon the conditions.
re the upside-down fax, I believe that the office did have an at least semi-legitimate reason for this ruling.
IIRC, the reasoning was that the fax & OCR processing was supposed to be automated & the electronic version of the fax directly input into the OCR software for processing. Clearly, if the fax was upside-down, the OCR would not operate properly. At least that was the reasoning given back when. (Of course there is software that can determine the orientation of a document & electronically rotate it to the proper orientation prior to OCR, but that is another story.
~~Logan~~
Design patents 2900 seem like the plumb examiner job and you’ll get burnt out in computer networks, multiplex, security 2400. Obviously, the examiners in 2400 should be paid more than those in 2900 (assuming an equal length of experience).
the design patent seems to be so slow in improving
“That 1st came out like 10-15 years ago in a Bob Levy column in the Washington Post. A VERY old story.”
And the paper in the article from the PTO was dated Feb. 3, 2010. So it appears the PTO has been unable to figure out what to do with upside down faxes for 10-15 years.
Unfortunately, that’s not a very old story.
Simpson, I like the way you think! You’re hired!
Now just add “because waffles are delicious” as the motivation to combine and I think we’re good to go to the board.
Cert denied that would be obvious. Why the fax machine is nothing but a waffle iron with a phone attached.
Cert,
That 1st came out like 10-15 years ago in a Bob Levy column in the Washington Post. A VERY old story.
MVS
More embarrassing that they refuse to accept submissions by email.
Heh, not a good week for PTO publicity…
Agreed. It’s embarassing that the PTO continues to accept FAX communications in 2010.
Heh, not a good week for PTO publicity…
link to gizmodo.com
“So is it next to impossible for an experienced patent attorney to get a job as a design examiner? The design area is the only (prosecuting) part of the PTO I would ever consider working for.”
The design area does not really do “prosecution” as others have alluded to. They’re kinda in their own little world there, I assume the same for plant patent examiners. Also, to be a design examiner, you generally need to have an art/design background, very few (if any) science/egineering types are design examiners.
I was speaking out of personal experience and should have qualified my statement to say that the examiners I’m dealing with in group 2400 are issuing successive non-finals resulting in no counts for them and no allowances for my clients. I was not trying to indicate that I believe group 2400 never allows anything ever. I was saying that, in my limited sample, the ratio of noobs/old-timers appears to be resulting in lose/lose for both these examiners and my clients.
I assume most everyone understood this, even MM. MM will no doubt have yet another pendantic reply, but I’m done.
So is it next to impossible for an experienced patent attorney to get a job as a design examiner?
Probably. It’s been my limited understanding, confirmed by the graph above, that they haven’t been hiring over the past couple years.
So is it next to impossible for an experienced patent attorney to get a job as a design examiner? The design area is the only (prosecuting) part of the PTO I would ever consider working for.
Hairy: His first statement was hyperbole
How can you tell?
His first statement was hyperbole and you are being pedantic, Mooney.
Znutar: I’m sure some patents did issue from 2400 last year. What does that say
It says that your earlier statement regarding “no allowances for clients” was misleading and that your personal experience may or may not be an anomaly, depending on whether or not you failed to obtain a single patent from the 2400 art unit last year.
As for the comment about old-timers, that would be a non-sequitur.
Thanks, Hairy.
My point is that the large imbalance of noobs to old-timers in 2400 leads to first OAs, and frequently second and third OAs, that are a waste of time for examiner and applicant alike. The appeals numbers are too few to be meaningful, but in time will likely reflect, I beleive, that the final OAs aren’t any better.
I’m sure some patents did issue from 2400 last year. What does that say, that there are some examiners in the group that allow anything? That my experience is an anomoly? That old-timers aren’t necessary?
Harry: I’m pretty sure that 2400 was created last year, so there probably aren’t any meaningful numbers for that yet.
One issued patent would be a sufficiently meaningful number to rebut Znutar’s claim that no allowances were received by applicants in that art unit.
Znutar, appeal stats are here: link to uspto.gov
“How many patents were issued by the 2400 art unit last year?”
I’m pretty sure that 2400 was created last year, so there probably aren’t any meaningful numbers for that yet.
Explains the churn of second and third non-final OAs. No counts for examiners and no allowances for clients.
How many patents were issued by the 2400 art unit last year?
So the worst ratio of 10+/<3 yrs is in Group 2400?
No surprise there.
Explains the churn of second and third non-final OAs. No counts for examiners and no allowances for clients.
I'll bet 2400 wins for percent of cases on appeal, and rejections overturned, too.
lulz. design patent examiners never leave. i guess rubber stamping isn’t stressful.
So the best ratio of 10+/<3 yrs is in the 1600 and 1700 groups?
No surprise there.
lol, the design “examiners” have it easy for great pay. Little known secret!! I would never leave if I had that good of a gig.
I wonder how much of this is due to attrition and how much is due to hiring. Maybe the TCs with the highest ratios of new examiners also have the biggest backlogs and therefore also did the most hiring.
Nase, if your job consisted entirely of rubber stamping anything that came across your desk, you would never quit either.
So nobody in the design patent group has been there for under 3 years?
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